LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Cape Coral Police are warning the public about puppy scams.
Cape Coral Police received a complaint regarding a puppy scam in January of 2021.
The scammer led the victim to believe she was communicating with a legitimate dog breeder; she eventually sent the scammer $575 via electronic transfer for a French bulldog.
She provided extensive documentation of her communications with the alleged dog breeder, Albert Adams.
CCPD says the scheme was elaborate, with the suspect pretending to be linked to a legitimate dog breeder, offering to fly the new pet down from Tampa, even sending pictures of himself flying a plane.
The Cape Coral Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit worked diligently on the case, identified the suspect as Albert Lonzo Adams III, 50, and developed probable cause for his arrest.
Adams was already incarcerated in the Hillsborough County Jail on unrelated fraud charges.
Adams was charged with criminal use of personal identification information (felony); unlawful use of a two-way communication device (felony); and first-degree petit theft.
